Justice News

Fort Yates Man Sentenced for Assault

BISMARCK– U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Nov. 7, 2013, Tracy Peters, 47, Fort Yates, N.D., pleaded guilty and was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles S. Miller Jr. on a charge of assault by striking, beating or wounding for assaulting a woman with whom he had a relationship.

Magistrate Judge Miller sentenced Peters to two years of probation. Peters was ordered to complete 60 hours of community service, to pay restitution of $536 and to pay a $25 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.

On April 20, 2013, Peters, a non-Indian, assaulted an Indian woman on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The woman suffered bruising to her face.

Under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, the penalty was increased for the offense of assault by striking, beating or wounding from a class B misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of up to 6 months’ imprisonment, to a class A misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of up to 1 year’s imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Standing Rock Agency.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Walker prosecuted the case.